Carton slitting device



K. H. BROWN LEE CARTON SLITTING DEVICE Jan. 5, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed March 10, 1958 INVENTOR. flennei/z/ff. Brazz/nlee,

Jan. 5, 1960 K. H. BROWNLEE 2,919,438

I CARTON SLITTING DEVICE Filed March 10, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q9. .u wdm y m I Ill 1 n j N w Gwx 1 m mw H Tam E u Aw a" :15? m 2: z: mm WK] lVH1 T v I L o :1: 5 E Ea A 0 {8 H Q NW N% hm Q Q\\ k mw m, W n 5 F F L 6w 5 Q I v? fsw wwwwwmnwwH N F mm m \Q T r 1 NH w l" w m 7 Q mm mmWWHMMMWWHMHHMMWMWMMMMW@WWWWM%W NE; Wv: w It g Jan. 5, 1960 K. H BROWNLEECARTON SLITTING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 10, 1958 INVENTOR.

BY 5:464, flan ercigrd Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Eli-- a{Application March 10, 1958, Serial No. 720,193

11 Claims. (Cl. 30-2) This invention relates to a carton slittingdevice, and more particularlyrelates to a device for slitting the endcorner edges of a cigarette carton to facilitate exposing the packagedcontents therein, without damage, for affixing tax stamps or the likethereto.

As an incident to the distribution of cartons of cigarettes to retaildealers, many states require that each package of cigarettes receive aprepared tax stamp before the cigarettes are sold at retail.Consequently, the wholesale distributor of the cigarettes is required toopen the sealed cartons and afiix a state tax stamp to the individualpackages before distribution to the retail dealers. To expedite thisprocedure, various machines have been developed to perform thisoperation, which usually involves alripping or tearing of the corneredges of the carton adjacent the panel underlaid by the carton tuckflapand a folding back of the freed panel and tuck-flap by appropriate flapfolding mechanism to expose the ends of the cigarette packages in thecarton. Tax stamps are then aflixed to the exposed ends of the cigarettepackages and the loosened flaps are folded back into their originalposition and thereafter glued closed.' The present invention is directedparticularly to the carton slitting phase of the aforementioned sequenceof operations and is embodied in a novel manually operable device forslitting the corner edges of a cigarette carton, said device beingparticularly adapted for use in conjunction with an automatic tax stampapplying machine.

Accordingly, it is a general object of my invention to provide animproved device for slitting the corner edges of cigarette cartons andthe like to facilitate exposing the ends of the packages therein. I

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved cartonslitting device having novel means for supporting and slitting a cartonduring operation of the device that will insure a slitting rather than atearing of the corner edges of the carton.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a simply constructedand easily operated carton slitting device that facilitates the rapidand safe manual slitting of cigarette cartons and the like,- preparatoryto the affixing of tax stamps or the like thereto.

Many other objects and advantages of theinvention will become apparentupon making reference to the following detailed description andaccompanying sheets of drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of one specific embodiment of myinvention, illustrated in conjunction with a typical carton flap foldingdeviceand a tax stamp applying machine and also showing the sequence offolded positions of the carton flaps of a series of longitudinallyarranged cartons at various stages of. progression through theapparatus;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the apparatus illustrated inFig. 1, showing the general arrangement of .a'series of,cartons to beslit when positioned on the:

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States Patent ice Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view similar to Fig. 2but showing difierent operating positions of the carton slitting device;

Fig. 4 is a rear perspective view of the carton slitting device;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line55 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional View taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 2;and

Fig. 7 is a somewhat diagrammatic perspective view showing the variouspositions of the main operating part of the device, the remainder of thedevice being removed for clarity.

Briefly described, the present invention contemplates a novel cartonslitting device that is particularly adapted for manually slitting theupper end corner edges of cigarette cartons to facilitate exposing thecontents thereof for affixing tax stamps to the ends of the packagestherein without removing the packages from the carton. To this end, thepresent invention includes a base, a support carried by the base whichmay be an elongated housing that carries the carton slitting blade andencloses the carton advancing mechanism of the invention, and a guidewayfor directing a series of cartons to be slit into engagement with thedevice. Means are also provided for adjusting the vertical height of theslitting blade in relation to the base to insure accurate insertionthereof between superposed wall and flap portions of a carton. Theoperating mechanism of the invention includes manually actuated pushermeans for reciprocably shifting a carton with respect to the blade toslit the corner edges of the'carton.

In a preferred form of construction, the support housing is cut out todefine guide surfaces which permit selective longitudinal and rotationalmovements of the pusher edges of the carton and to partially advance thecarton into a cooperating flap folding chute. The control handle isthereafter movable to retract the pusher mechanisminto the housing forreturn to its initial position for repetition of a carton slittingcycle.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the carton slitting device ofthe presentinvention is designated generally by the reference numeral 10 and isshown mounted on a table or base T on which is also mounted anassociated carton flap folding device K. A cigarette tax stamp applyingma-- chine M is also illustrated in adjoining position to the table.

T for receiving opened cigarette cartons from the folding chute K and isexamplary of one type of device with which the present invention isparticularly useful- Three longitudinally arranged cartons aredesignated at Cin detached relation above the corresponding parts of theapparatus in order to show the sequence of folded positions of the slittop wall and underlying tuck-fiap as the cartons progress through theflap folding device K and into the stamp applying machine M after aslit-;

ting operation. Inasmuch as the stamp applying machine M and the flapfolding device K per se form no part of the present invention, only abrief description thereof has been included.

The stamp applying machine M includes an enclosing housing 11 and aninlet guidechute 12 for receiving a series of longitudinally alignedcigarette cartons thatare-disposed on'edge and have their top wallsfolded Patented Jan. 5, 1960.

back upon their side walls to expose the ends of the contained cigarettepackages. In the machine M, tax stamps in the form of heat activatableand heat releaseable transfers are applied from a roll to thee):- posedends of the packages by heated elements which fuses the stamps to thepackages. After passing through the machine M, the carton top isresealed, as by gluing, to the underlying flap and the stamped cartonsare then repackaged for shipment.

The elongated flap folding device K is preferably mounted on the table Tcontiguous to one end of the carton slitting device and generallyincludes a pair of spaced vertical walls 14 and 16 and a pair of foldingplows 17 and 18 disposed generally adjacent the upper longitudinal edgesof the walls 14 and 16; The walls 14 and 16 are spaced from each otherby a distance substantially equal to the width of a cigarette cartonwhen supported on edge as it would be oriented for exposing the ends ofthe cigarette packages, and the walls thus define a chute for receivinga previously slit carton from the slitting device 10. The flap foldingplows 17 and 18 are arranged in tandem along the walls 14 and 16,respectively, and are effective to engage the previously slit, top walland underlying tuck-flap of a carton to fold these members against theirrespective carton side walls in a manner well known in the art.

Referring again to the three longitudinally aligned cartons Cillustrated somewhat diagrammatically in Fig. 1, it will be observedthat when a carton is arranged on edge before being slit, its narrowersides become top and bottom walls 19 and 23, respectively, and its widersides becomes front and rear vertical side walls 21 and 22,respectively. The end walls, of course, retain their originalrelationship and are designated by the reference numeral 23. The rearside wall 22 includes a tuckfiap 24, that normally underlies the topwall 19 and defines a longitudinal slot 25 (Fig. 1) therebetween. Theparticular orientation of the cartons C- asabove described is necessaryfor the efficient operation of the carton slitting device 10, as willhereinafter be described. The walls 14 and 16 of the carton flap foldingdevice K form in effect a continuation of the housing of the cartonslitting device 10 to guide a previously slit carton through the chute.The plow 17 includes an outwardly curved portion 17a and a rodportion'17b, each of which is successively operable to swing the freetop wall 19 of a carton upwardly and into juxtaposed relationship withthe side wall 21 thereof after the upper corner edges have been slit. Asa carton progresses past the plow 17, the underlying tuck-flap 24 willengage the flap folding plow 18, which similarly includes a curvedportion 18a and a bar portion 18b to swing the tuck-flap 24 upwardly andinto juxtaposed relationship with the side wall 22 of the carton.- 17and 18 are effective to swing the previously slit carton top wall 19 andunderlying tuck-flap 24 against the' adjacent sides 21 and 22 of thecarton as the carton enters inlet 12 ofthe stamp applying machine M' inreadiness for the tax stamp affixing operation.

Referring now to Figs. 2 to 7 in conjunction with Fig. l, the cartonslitting device 10 generally includes a' support in the form of anelongated rectangularshaped sheet metal housing 26 disposedin parallel,cooperating side-by-side relationship toan adjacent endof the foldingchute, pusher means in the form ofa pair of longitudinally spaced arms27 that a'remouhted for axial and rotational movement about'a horizontalaxis passing throughthe housing, blade means such as an elongatedhorizontally disposed slitting blade 28' mounted lengthwise along thetop of the support housing" 26, a carton loading guideway 29 and acontrol handle 31 for manipulating the arms 27 to effect acartomslitting operation and the transportation thereof into the flapfolding device K.

Thehousing .26 in theillustratedembodiment aataa' Thus, the plows afront wall 32, integral top and rear walls 33 and 34, respectively, anda pair of end blocks 35. Inturned horizontal flanges 36 and 36 may beprovided on the front and rear walls 32 and 34, respectively, forstrengthening purposes and to facilitate attachment of the housing 26 tothe table T. The front wall 32 is divided into three sections or panels32a, 32b, and 320 (Fig. 1) by three vertically extending openings orslots 37 (Figs. 1 and 2) disposed substantially at the center and ateachend of the housing 26. The vertical height of the front wall panelsections 32a32c is somewhat less than that of the rear wall 34 to definea longitudinally extending slot 38 (Fig. 1) between the top wall 33 andthe upper longitudinal edge of the front wall panel sections 32a32c.-

As best shown in Fig. 4, the top wall 33 is cut out, as at 39, and therear wall 34 is vertically slit, as at 40, to form guide surfaces orshoulders which provide limit positions to movements of the handle 31 ashereinafter described. Part of the slit portion of the rear wall 34 isfolded inwardly to form a horizontal bearing shelf 41 for supporting thehandle 31.

The pusher means for engaging a carton and effecting movement of thecarton relative to the blade 28 may comprise a horizontally extendingshaft 42 rigidly supported in recesses in the end blocks 35 below thetop wall 33 and having slidably and rotatably mounted thereon a tubularsleeve 43 carrying the arms 27 in radially extending and longitudinallyspaced relation thereon. The arms 27 are preferably fan or paddleshaped(Figs. 5 and 6) and are axially spaced from each other by a distancesomewhat greater than the longitudinal length of a carton to be slit. Aradially extending rod 44 rigidly connects the control handle 31 to thetubular sleeve 43 and rides on the guide surfaces defined by the cut outand slit portions 39 and 40 and the shelf 41 to permit a predeterminedsequence of rotational and axial movements thereof and the spaced arms27.

As best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the support housing 26 has a lengthsubstantially equal to twice the length of a carton to be slit, suchthat horizontal movement of the control handle 31 between a limitposition adjacent the right end of the housing 26, as viewed in Fig. l,to a limit position substantially in the middle of the housing 26iseifective to transport a carton out of engagement with the blade 28and into partial engagement with the flap folding device K.

The elongated slitting blade 28 is preferably rigidly secured to the topwall 33 of the housing 26 in a horizontal position by an overlyingflanged support member 45 and an underlying reinforcing strap member 46(Fig. 6), which are maintained in clamped engagement with thetop wall ofthe housing 33 by screws 47. The support member 45 has an upstandingvertical flanged portion 45, which forms another guide surface forcontrolling the movements of the handle 31 in addition to the guidesurfaces 39 and 40. I

The blade 28 is laterally centered in relation to the loading guideway29. and is vertically spaced above'the top of the table T by a distancesubstantially equal to the height of the rear side wall 22 of a carton Csuch as to bring the blade in alignment with the slot 25. it will beapparent that inasmuch as the carton slitting device 10 will be requiredto slit both the so-called regular and king-size cigarette cartons,means must be provided. for adjusting the vertical height of the blade28 relative to-the top of the table T. In addition, provision must bemade for accommodating variations in the longitudinal length of'thecartons inorder that the slitting device 10 may function properly. Tothis end, the guideway 29 (Figs. 1 and 2) is formed by a pair oflongitudinally spaced flanged members 48, having horizontal baseportions 49 and upstanding wall portions 50 for engaging the end walls23 of-the cartons C, the spacing of the vertical walls 50 beingadjustable by-nieans of screws 5!.'

' glued together.

which pass through slots 52 in the horizontal base portions 49 and whichare threaded into the table T.

In order to provide a fine adjustment for the alignment of the slot 25with the blade 28, the table T is slotted, as at' 53 (Figs. 1 and 6), todefine a hinged rectangularshaped plateportion 54 which serves as thefloor or base of the loading guideway 29. The free front edge of theplate 54 is disposed under the slitting blade 28 and is engaged by apair of adjusting screws 56 (Figs. 4 and 6), which are threaded throughthe table T from the lower surface thereof and engage the lower surfaceof the plate 54. Thus, adjustment of the screws 56 will raise or lower acarton C to insure accurate alignment between the. blade 28 and thecartonslot 25.

In order to slit regular size cartons, a rectangularshaped spacer insert57 (Fig. 1) having a thickness substantially equal to the difference inheight between a regular and king-size cigarette carton, is provided fordisposition overlying the rectangular-shaped plate 54 and between theupstanding vertical walls 50 of the flanged members-48. Adjustment ofthe screws 56 is effective to conjointly raise or lower both the spacer57' and underlying plate member 54 to obtain the proper heightadjustment. A similar elongated spacer 58 (Fig. l) is provided betweenthe walls 14 and 16 of the flap folding device K when regular sizecigarette cartons are being slit.

' The blade 28 is desirably formed of hardened sheet metal and has anelongated trapezoidal shape including a forwardly extending edge portion59 and rearwardly diverging sharpened end edges 61. The longitudinallength of the blade is substantialy equal to the length of a carton C,as best seen in Fig. 2.

1 Referring to Fig. 7 in conjunction with Figs. 2-6, the sequence ofmovements of the control handle 31 as are necessary to perform a cartonslitting operation will now be described. Prior to an actual slittingoperation, a series of cartons are initially placed on edge on theloading guideway 29 with their rear vertical side walls facing towardthe front wall panel 32 of the housing 26, such that their longitudinalslots 25 face the forward edge 59 of the slitting blade 28 (Fig. 2). Thenearest carton is then moved into engagement with the forward edge 59 ofthe slitting blade 28, which is effective to separate the top wall 19and tuck flap 24 if they have previously been If a series of regularsize cartons are to be slit, it will be necessary to install the inserts57 and 58 as previously described. For the purposes of the presentdescription, however, it will be assumed that a series of king sizecartons are to be slit, and consequently the inserts 57 and 58 are notneeded. After a series of cartons have been placed on the guideway 29 inthe arrangement aforementioned, the control handle 31 will be in avertical upwardly extended engaged position with the rear guide surfaceportion 45 of the support member 45, as indicated in dotted lines at theleft of Fig. 7 and Fig. 6. In this position, the pusher arms 27 will bein substantial vertical alignment with the shaft portion 44 and areshrouded in the interior of the housing 26.

The control handle 31 is rotated rearwardly and down wardly along theguide surface 40 into contact with the bearing shelf 41 to thehorizontal position shown in Fig. 6, this movement being indicated bythe arrow a in Fig. 7. In'this position, the spaced arms 27 areprojected forwardly through the slots 37 (Fig. 1) to embrace the endwalls 23 ofa carton in readiness for shifting the carton to effect aslitting operation.

It will be apparent from Fig. 2 that the next adjacent carton to be slitprovides side face bearing support for the front wall 21 of the cartonengaged upon the blade 28, which relationship may be maintained bymanual effort on thepart of an operator or by any other suitable biasingmechanism urging the group of side-by-side cartons toward the blade 28.

One upper c'orne'i edge of an engaged carton is s'lit by axial shiftingmovement of the control handle 31 to the position indicated by the arrow12 in Fig. 7. In order to accommodate this initial movement, the rearwall panel 34 of the housing 36 is notched as at 62 (Fig. 4). As viewedin Fig. 2, the left arm 27 of the pusher means will engage the left endof the carton C engaged on the blade 28 and will shift the cartonlongitudinally toward the right to a limit position illustrated in Fig.3. This limit position is determined by the length of the notch 62 whichlength is sufficient to effect slitting of the left corner edge of thecarton by engagement with the corre-- sponding edge 61 of the blade 28.In order to effect slitting of the opposite right corner edge of thecarton, the control knob 31 is shifted horizontally along the shelf 41toward the opposite end of the housing 26 as indicated by the arrow 0 toa limit position formed by the vertical cut out edge 40 in the rear wallpanel 34 (Fig. 4). This position of the control handle 31 is indicatedin solid line in Figs. 4 and 7 and in dotted lines in Fig. 3. As will beseen from Fig. 3, this last described movement of the control handle 31consecutively effects a slitting of the right corner edge of the cartonby engagement with the corresponding blade edge 61 and also advances thecarton into the carton flap folding device K where the plow 17 engagesthe now free top wall 19 of the carton to initiate a folding thereof. Aswill be apparent fromv Fig. 6, the close underlying proximity of theupper horizontal edges of the pusher arms 27 to the undersurface of theblade 28 provides back-up or support for the end walls 23 of the cartonand insures a clean shearing action of the blade as it passes throughthe corner edges of the carton, thereby preventing the corner edges frombeing torn open.

After the carton has been advanced into the chute of the flap foldingdevice K by movement of the control handle to the position indicated bythe arrow 0 of Fig. 7, the next succeeding carton will have beenadvanced by the operator through the loading guideway 29 and intoengagement with the front wall panel 32b and onto the blade 28. Thecontrol handle 31 is then rotated forwardly and upwardly along the guidesurface 40 and 39 (Fig. 4) and into engagement with the guide surfaceflange to the vertical position illustrated in dotted line in Fig. 6 andby the arrow d in Fig. 7. The pusher arms 27 are thus retracted throughthe slots at the discharge end of housing 26 into the interior thereofin order to clear the next carton which has already been pushed intoposition against theblade 28 and may then be translated toward the otherend of the housing, this movement being indicated by the arrow e of Fig.7. The knob 31 is then rotated downwardly along the opposite guidesurfaces 39 and 40, as indicated by the arrow a, to rotate the pusherarms 27 horizontally upwardly through the slots 37 at the loading end ofthe housing 26 in readines for a second slitting cycle.

It will be understood that while the carton slitting device hereindisclosed has been described for manual operation, the sequence of stepsperformed thereby could readily be performed automatically, as by amotor-drive, without departing from the principles of the presentinvention.

While only one embodiment of the invention has been herein illustratedand described, it should be understood that variations thereof may beeffected without departing from the scope of the invention as defined inthe appended claims.

I claim:

1. A carton slitting device for slitting the corner edges of a cartoncomprising a support, stationary blade means mounted on said support andproviding a pair of oppositely disposed cutting edges, said blade meansbeing adapted to extend between superposed wall and flap portions of acarton for positioning said cutting edges in slitting relation withrespect to corner edges at opposite ends of the carton, and pusher meansmounted onsaid support for shifting a carton with respect to said blademeans, said pusher means including a pair of spaced radially extendingpusher arms mounted for axial movement and also for rotational movementabout a'horizontal axis between an extended carton engaging position anda retracted disengaged position, said arms being operable when in saidextended position to engage the opposite ends of a carton forreciprocably shifting the carton to move the end corner edges thereofinto slitting engagement with the respective cutting edges of said blademeans and being axially shiftable when in said disengaged position formovement independently of the carton.

2. A carton slitting device according to claim 1, further characterizedin that said pusher arms are spaced from each other by a distanceslightly greater than the length of a carton to be slit.

3. A carton slitting device according to claim 1, further characterizedin that said blade means comprises an elongated horizontally disposedblade having a length substantially equal to the longitudinal dimensionof a carton to be slit. 7

r. A carton siitting device for slitting the corner edges of a cartoncomprising a support, elongated stationary blade means horizontallymounted on said supportand providing a pair of oppositely disposedcutting edges, said blade means being adapted to extend betweensuperposed wall and flap portions of a carton for positioning saidcutting edges in slitting relation with respect to corner edges atopposite ends of the carton, and pusher means mounted on said supportfor shifting saidcarton with res met to said blade means, said pushermeans including a pair or spaced radially extending pusher arms mountedfor axial movement and also for rotational movement about a horizontalaxis between an extended carton engaging position and a retracteddisengaged position, said arms being operable when in said extendedposition to engage the opposite ends of a carton for reciprocablyshifting a carton to move the end corner edges thereof into slittingengagement with the respective cutting edges of said blade means andbeing axially shiftable when in said disengaged position for movementindependently of the carton, and said arms when in said extendedposition being adapted to engage the outside of the carton end walls inclose underlying relation to the plane of said blade means whereby toprovide exterior support for the end walls during slitting engagement ofsaid cutting edges at the inside of the carton,

5. A carton slitting device for slitting the corner edges of a cartoncomprising a support, stationary blade means mounted on said support andproviding a pair of oppositely disposed cutting edges, said blade meansbeing adapted to extend between superposed wall and flap portions of acarton for positioning said cutting edges in slitting relation withrespect to corner edges at opposite ends of said carton, a horizontallydisposed shaft carried by said support, and a slidable and rotatablymounted sleeve carried by said shaft and having pusher means extendingtherefrom for engaging and shifting a carton with respect to said blademeans, said pusher means including a pair of spaced radially extendingpusher arms movable between an extended carton engaging position and are tracted disengaged position, said arms being operable when in anextended position to engage the opposite ends of a carton forreciprocably shifting the carton to move the end corner edges thereofinto slitting engagement with the respective cutting edges of said blademeans and being shiftable when in a retracted disengaged position formovement independently of said carton.

A carton slitting device according to claim 5, further characterized inthat said sleeve has a handle for effecting manual movement of saidsleeve and said pusher means. y

7. A carton slitting device for slitting the corner edges of a cartoncomprising an elongated support, stationary blade means mounted on saidsupport and providing a pair of oppositely disposed cutting edges, saidblade means being adapted to extend between superposed wall and flapportions of a carton for positioning said cutting edges in slittingrelation with respect to corner edges at opposite ends of the carton, ahorizontally disposed shaft carried by said support, a slidable androtatably mounted sleeve carried by said shaft and having pusher meansextending therefrom for shifting a carton with respect to said blademeans, an operating member connected to said sleeve for effectingmovement of said sleeve and pusher means, said support having meansproviding a guide surface cooperable with said operating member forlimiting and controlling axial and rotational movements of said sleeveand pusher means, said pusher means including a pair of spaced radiallyextending pusher arms movable between an extended carton engagingposition and a retracted disengaged position, said arms being operablewhen in an extended position to engage the opposite ends of a carton forreciprocably shifting the carton to move the end corner edges thereofinto slitting engagement with the respective cutting edges of said blademeans and being shiftable when in a retracted disengaged position formovement independently of said carton.

8. A carton slitting device for slitting the corner edges of a cartoncomprising an elongated housing having a top wall, stationary blademeans mounted on the top wall of, said housing and providing a pair ofoppositely disposed cutting edges, said blade means being adapted toextend between superposed wall and flap portions of a carton forpositioning said cutting edges in slitting relation with respect tocorner edges at opposite ends of the carton, a horizontally disposedstationary shaft mounted length wise in said housing, a slidably androtatably mounted sleeve carried by said shaft, pusher means extendingfrom said sleeve for shifting a carton with respect to said blade means,said housing having an opening defining guide surfaces therearound, anda handle connected to said sleeve and extending through said opening foreffecting limited and controlled movements of said sleeve and pushermeans along said guide surfaces, said pusher means including a pair ofspaced radially extending pusher arms movable between an extended cartonengaging position and a retracted disengaged position, said arms beingoperable when in an extended position to engage the opposite ends of acarton for reciprocably shifting the carton to move the end corner edgesthereof into slitting engagement with the respective cutting edges ofsaid blade means and being shiftable when in a retracted disengagedposition for movement independently of said carton.

9. A carton slitting device for slitting the corner edges of anelongated carton comprising a base, an elongated support mounted on saidbase, stationary blade means mounted on said support and providing apair of oppositely disposed cutting edges, said blade means beingadapted to extend'between superposed wall and flap portions of a cartonfor positioning said cutting edges in slitting relation with respect tocorner edges at opposite ends of the carton, a guideway carried by saidbase and perpendicularly disposed to said support for directing a cartontransversely into engagement with said blade means, and pusher meansmounted on said support for shifting a carton lengthwise with respect tosaid blade means, said pusher means including a pair'of'spaced radiallyextending pusher arms mounted for axial movement and also for rotationalmovement about a horizontal axis between an extended carton engagingposition and a retracted disengaged position, said arms being operablewhen in an extended position to engage the opposite ends of a carton forreciprocably shifting the carton to move the end corner edgesthereofinto slitting engagement with the respective cutting edges ofsaid blade means and being shiftable when in a retracted disengagedposition for movement independently of said carton. 10. A cartonslitting device according to claim 9, further characterized in that saidguideway includes a horizontally disposed plate portion having one endthereof vertically adjustable in relation to said blade means forvarying the position of a carton carried thereon when said carton ismoved into juxtaposition with said elongated support.

11. A carton slitting device comprising a support, stationary blademeans mounted on said support and providing a pair of oppositelydisposed cutting edges, said blade means being adapted to extend betweensuperposed wall and fiap portions of a carton for positioning saidcutting edges in slitting relation with respect to corner edges atopposite ends of the carton, and manually operable pusher means foreffecting bodily movement of the carton relative to said blade means,said pusher means including a pair of pusher arms and means on saidsupport mounting said arms in parallel spaced relation for unitaryrotary movement thereof and also for unitary movement longitudinally oftheir axes of rotation, said arms in one rotary position thereof beingengageable with the opposite ends of the carton for reciprocablyshifting the carton to move the end corner edges thereof into slittingengagement with the respective cutting edges of said blade means, andsaid arms being disengageable from the carton by movement of the arms toanother rotary position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,574,087 Burhans Nov. 6, 1951 2,595,122 Burhans Apr. 29, 1952 2,595,815Salzano May 6, 1952

